Ernie’s US Open Preview

16 Jun

We arrived at Chambers Bay at the weekend and played our first practice round on Saturday morning. Let me tell you, this golf course is really something else!

My guess is most guys are going to be playing more practice rounds here than perhaps they would at other major championship venues. Strategically, it’s very intriguing and it has a lot of intricacies, distinctive features and quirks.

I love that, though. It’s exciting being here at a new golf course that very few of us have seen before, and I’ve always enjoyed the process of studying and analyzing a golf course and figuring out a strategy of how to play it. As everyone has said and reported, this layout is every bit the links challenge, right down to the all-fescue terrain that is a first for any US Open. Another links-like feature is there are no trees on the course, save for a lone fir on the 16th tee. The heart of the Chambers Bay defense structure lies in the sandy waste areas around the heavily contoured greens’ complexes, which represent a serious workout for your short game.

An added challenge for the players this week is that the designers of Chambers Bay have created an extremely versatile layout that gives the USGA some options and flexibility in how they set-up the golf course from one day to the next. They can switch tees, even switch pars in the case of holes 1 and 18. No one quite knows exactly what to expect, although it’s safe to say the player who wins will have done a great job adapting their game along the way, using their imagination and being creative with their shot making.

That’s another very links-like feature, because in an Open Championship you get accustomed to hitting a wide variety of shots and coping with variations in the way the course plays from day-to-day, sometimes even hour-to-hour! As I said last week, Majors are all about getting your head in the right place before you start, but your head has to stay in the right place all week and that’s going to be key here. This course plays hard and fast, it will give you some funny bounces and stuff will happen that tests you and your patience. You have to try to stay positive mentally and not get frustrated.

Summing up, though, I must give absolute respect to everyone involved in the creation of Chambers Bay and say they’ve done a phenomenal job getting this golf course US Open-ready. They have also considered the fans and have lots of seating to allow good vantage points. Now it’s over to the players. I’m going to enjoy the build-up, trying to get underneath the skin of this unique golf course, and I’m relishing the challenge. My US Open record – with two wins and 10 top-10s, three in the last five years – always gives me optimism. Obviously my game needs to come around a little, but I’ve done that before in Majors. I’ve got a nice draw in the first two days, as well, in the company of two classy guys and former champions – Retief Goosen and Geoff Ogilvy. You can follow me on Twitter @TheBig_Easy for regular updates from Chambers Bay.

Finally, just a quick word about Father’s Day, which coincides with the final day of this week’s US Open. Most dads (including me, I fear!) can be tricky to buy for, but Ernie Els Wines has perhaps the perfect solution to your dilemma, with its new home delivery service. You can order any one of the wines in the portfolio (below), although in the case of hitting the Father’s Day deadline we recommend you do so before Tuesday night to avoid disappointment. Please click here for more details.

Also, one of our supporters of Els for Autism, Birdie Box, has some great value Father’s Day Gift Boxes containing golf products such as TaylorMade balls, Ernie Els Collection apparel, and many other items from some of my sponsors including Stable 26, I-ONICS, Daphne’s Headcovers and Zero Restriction. A percentage of the sales go to Els for Autism, so thank you to all parties for the collective show of support. Click here for more information.

Bye for now.

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